Isaiah 7:1-8:8 Who Will You Trust? From 7:1 to 9:7 God is directing his words directly at Judah, the southern Kingdom. From 9:8 to 11:16 God s words

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1 1 Isaiah 7:1-8:8 Who Will You Trust? From 7:1 to 9:7 God is directing his words directly at Judah, the southern Kingdom. From 9:8 to 11:16 God s words are directed to Israel the northern kingdom. Today, I want to address the first part of God s message to Judah as we consider the question, Who will you trust? And we take our story from the life of a bad king, Ahaz. 1. God s Crisis I call this God s crisis because, really all crises belong to God. He is sovereign over all, good and bad, and as Christians we do not separate any sphere of life from the One who controls all things. Look at vv In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. 2 When the house of David was told, "Syria is in league with Ephraim," the heart of Ahaz and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. 3 And the LORD said to Isaiah, "Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-jashub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. Let me try and explain what is happening. Ahaz is the king. He is the 3 rd of 4 kings mentioned who rule during Isaiah s life. The northern Kingdom (10 tribes who split from the united kingdom after Solomon) has been a puppet state to the major power in the world, Assyria. And the southern kingdom is not far behind. Assyria is dominating the political scene of the world and little by little smaller nations are either paying tribute and coming under their authority. Or worse, the Assyrian armies come in and make sure this is the case, which is about to happen in Judah. As Americans we really have no concept of this. In our lives, no outside political power has come close to controlling us. But, we can imagine. And what a crisis this would be! In this story, Assyria had already invaded the area, but did not yet exercise full control. And in order to stop a 2 nd invasion (v.1, see also 2 Ch. 28:17-18), the northern kingdom, whom he calls Ephraim (half tribe from Joseph), is teaming up with Syria (not Assyria) to hopefully stop them from doing it again. And, up until this time, Jerusalem had not been conquered, but an invasion was imminent. So, Ahaz was getting political pressure from Syria and the northern kingdom to join their alliance. So we see Ahaz s crisis! He is thinking, Do I join forces? Do I stand alone? And, either way, invasion is imminent! And he, and the people are literally shaking like a leaf (v. 2). And whether Ahaz wanted it or not, in the midst of this crisis, God sends Isaiah. Notice also he sends his son. This is important as God knows exactly what Ahaz will decide. Isaiah s son is called Shear-Jashub, which means, a remnant shall return. I am not sure if Ahaz got the message, but how do you have a remnant to return if the majority are not destroyed; a message of judgment and hope. And notice where he finds Ahaz. He is inspecting the city s water supply, which just happened to run above ground. What a crisis? Ahaz is facing the destruction of the house of David, which they are called in v. 2. Let me ask: What is your crisis? You may not be the leader of the house of David. But, for each one of us, crises are relative. They are always difficult! Whether it is sickness, death in the family, difficulties in marriage or child-rearing, financial stress, old age, you name it, this is the

2 2 result of sin in this fallen world! And I ask, What will you do in the time of crisis? For the right answer, let s keep moving through this text. 2. God s Response Let s notice clearly what God says to Ahaz in vv And say to him, 'Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remaliah. 5 Because Syria, with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has devised evil against you, saying, 6 "Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Tabeel as king in the midst of it," 7 thus says the Lord GOD: "'It shall not stand, and it shall not come to pass. 8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin. And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people. 9 And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all. The literal translation here is literally do nothing. Ahaz was under pressure to play politics and form an alliance with Israel and Syria. But, he calls them smoldering stumps of firebrands. In other words, they are no match for Assyria! They are a couple burned out stumps compared to the mighty strength of Assyria. In this text Isaiah refers to the son of Remaliah (Pekah) and the son of Tabeel (?), as if not to even remember their names. For they are not important. He is saying, they are NOTHING compared to who you are and what YOU and your son stands for? Who is your son, but the son of David? For the destiny of your people (and the world) depends on the Son of David. (Keep that thought!) Here is what God is saying to Ahaz: Will you trust in human purposes; Or, will you trust in divine promises? Here is our truth as we apply this passage: Isaiah understood that the real issue wasn t one of military muscle or of political cleverness in creating defensive allies, but whether the LORD could be trusted to do what his world promised!!! This will preach in any crisis! It is that simple. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God (Ps. 20:7). Here we have Isaiah, standing with his son, whose name means a remnant will survive. And He is trusting God. And no matter what comes his way, he was willing for the word of God to become flesh in his son. But Ahaz was shaking like the wind chimes in our back yard! This is God s word to every one of us in this room today! Brothers and sisters, this is radical! This isn t the prosperity gospel saying, do you have enough faith that your bank account will come out on top. Or, it isn t merely, will I make it through this trial and be better for it. Oh how we love to quote Rom. 8:28: For God works all things out for the good to those who love him... There is so much more. This is: God, your will be done! This is God, No matter what comes my way, your will be done. This is God, even if my child is destined to not make it as a part of the remnant to come back (for Isaiah knew very well what would happen: Keep on preaching... until the cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land... (6:11-12) This is no prosperity gospel. And this is not for the faint of heart. He must have known Ahaz would not heed God s words to trust God!

3 3 Will you trust God? Will you trust the world or your flesh? Will you trust the divine providence of God and his promises (though it may be the most difficult)? Or will you trust in your own works? Application: Trusting God may be difficult. But, notice God s command in v. 4. Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint. 3. God s Provision This simply follows the previous truth. God will provide EVERYTHING you need in this world. Just trust Me! Look at vv : Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz: 11 "Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. Let s think about this sign for a moment. What was the sign for? Judah will not be conquered by Syria, Israel, or Assyria. And, we see that the northern kingdom of Israel will be conquered (65 years, v. 8), which will happen starting in 732 to 722 B.C. God is telling Ahaz, you can trust me. What I say will come to pass! And if you need something more, I will give you a sign. This is a physical picture of an eternal truth. And Ahaz answers, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. At first, we might think Ahaz is humble. Oh Lord, I won t put you to the test. We may be tempted to think this is a response of faith, but, this is not the case at all. Do you remember Gideon. He asked God for a sign. He said, God if you are really with me and with Israel, and if you really are going to defeat Midian our enemy, show me a sign. In Judges 6, we see that God gives him 2 signs. In the first sign, Gideon prepared goat and unleavened bread and put them in a pot. God said, Now put the pot on the rock. And as the Angel of the Lord touched the pot with his staff, fire consumed all of it. And in great fear, Gideon built an altar and worshipped. The 2 nd sign was the fleece, wet on dry ground, dry on wet ground. With these signs, we see great faith from Gideon. He asked of God to know his will and to know if he were doing the right thing. But, with Ahaz, he didn t want the sign. He did not really want to know the truth of God. He wanted to do things his own way. He was a man with no faith! Yet, God still says, ask of Me! Brothers and Sisters, DO NOT MISS THIS STATEMENT! Here we have the holy, sovereign God of the universe, holding his hands out to an UNGODLY king saying, I will do whatever you ask, as high as the heavens or as low as Sheol, just ask of me! OH, THE GRACE OF GOD TO UNDESERVING SINNERS! This phrase literally means to the highest of the highs of heaven to the lowest of the lows in in the depths of the earth I will do it. There is no limit to what God will do if Ahaz will only ask in faith. This is God s call to the ungodly today. And God does move heaven and earth for sinners! In Christ God provides what ONLY heaven can give. And the depths of this provision extends all the way to hell itself. For the Son of God came from heaven to do what only God could do. Rev. 5:2-5: And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, "Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. He is worthy! He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed (Is. 53:5). It was the will of the Lord to crush him (53:10). In this is love, not

4 4 that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10). Brothers and sisters, in this death, Christ took ALL the punishment that our sins deserved, including hell itself. He could not have descended any lower! But... He then rose from the dead and God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9-11). And Ahaz would be found in Christ, if he had put God to the test. And this goes for ANY sinner who calls upon the name of the Lord. At this point in the story, Ahaz rejects God. And Isaiah knows it. In v. 10 Isaiah refers to God as your God. But, in v. 13 He says, Hear then, O house of David! (indictment on all of Judah and Israel) Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? By way of application God has a sovereign timetable for the ungodly. If you are in Christ, judgment has already passed over the doorpost of your heart and fallen on Christ. You will only receive the loving discipline of God. But, if you are not in Christ, do not harden your heart! Today is the day of salvation! Trust Him now! Let me quickly make some comments on this sign. When Ahaz rejected God s offer, the sign then becomes a sign of judgment. But, to the remnant, to those who have faith, it is still a sign of God s promise. Now, there are differing views as to whether this passage refers to two children, one in Isaiah s day, or of only ONE. For we know ultimately it is the Messiah. Matthew quotes this verse in 1:23: Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which translated means, God with us. Personally, I believe the evidence of history and the Scriptures point to only one. But, either way, we know the ULTIMATE fulfillment is the virgin birth of Christ and his humble life (v. 15). We often see in the OT prophets, when Israel is in trouble, whether it be famine or wars, or sin and rebellion, God reminds them of the Messiah to come! We must not miss this through the judgments in Isaiah and the prophets. Quick Application: To believers: In Christ, God s provision is complete. There is no crisis in which God does not provide exactly what you need. 2 Pet. 1:3: His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. 4. God s Judgment In vv we see the alternatives to the way of salvation: judgment and destruction. Hopefully, you read cps. 7-8 this week. VV. 18-8:8 describe the Assyrian invasion and what will happen to the land, particularly Israel, the northern tribes. In less than 15 years, the northern kingdom will be no more as they will be carried off to captivity and ruled by Assyria. And though Judah and Jerusalem will be spared for a later date of destruction, they really cease to be a sovereign kingdom at this time. VV. 1-8 speak of another sign. Look at vv. 3-: 4: And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the LORD said to me, "Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz; 4 for before the boy knows how to cry 'My father' or 'My mother,' the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be carried away before the king of Assyria.

5 Let me close with this: Trust the Lord! Ahaz may have been the most skilled politician and trusted in the world s best minds. He certainly trusted in the things he thought would bring him and his kingdom safety. But, at the end of the day, he, and his kingdom will be lost. The very things he trusted GUARANTEED his downfall. Whatever your crises, and whatever you are trusting in, trust in God. And we do this by looking to Christ, God s provision, God with us! 5